JNU situation is “disaster” by VC: Former faculty member

New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) A retired professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has come down heavily on Vice Chancellor M. Jagdeesh Kumar for letting the varsity plunge into an “unprecedented crisis” and said allowing police inside the campus was a “disaster” by him.

“Within two weeks of your taking over as vice chancellor of JNU, the university has been plunged into an unprecedented crisis over an event, which was not very unusual in JNU or any other university,” retired professor Chaman Lal, who also studied in the university before becoming a faculty member there, said in a letter to Kumar.

He said young students all over the world in liberal universities learn the lessons of their democratic and civil rights, express concern for social or national and international issues.

The best examples were of the US, where, in many universities, during the US action in Vietnam, or even recently, the country’s policies in the Middle East of exporting “democracy”, causing the disasters in the Arab world or elsewhere had attracted students’ wrath against their government but none of them was arrested, charged with sedition or termed anti-national, which happened in JNU Chaman Lal said.

He also accused the vice chancellor of having failed to protect the rights of students and the university because him being a misfit in the post.

“I really feel sorry for you, you should have known JNU better before accepting this challenge. It is better not to wear the shoes which does not fit one’s feet,” he said.

He also expressed surprise that as a guardian of JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, Jagdeesh Kumar has not uttered even a word on those “state protected black coated lawyers” who attacked Kanhaiya Kumar.

“Professor M. Jagdeesh Kumar, as a scientist, you perhaps have little exposure to social sciences or humanities, whose scholars or students know that in student age, there are rebellious tendencies among youth, even inside home and parents don’t kill their children for their rebellious tendencies, over the period by life experiences, youth mollifies,” he said.

He said that “destroying India” slogan seems to be the handiwork of some vested interests from outside the university to trap JNU students.

Chaman Lal also quoted the letter of Vishwadeepak of Zee News, who resigned from the channel citing the reason that how the TV channel conspiratorially trapped Kanhaiya Kumar into the treason charge and planned all stories on JNU with a specific agenda.

“As a vice chancellor, you are duty bound to protect the life and limb of all its members – faculty, students and staff. If you cannot, then your moral authority will be greatly affected inside JNU, even if you get full outside support from MHRD and home minister and Delhi Police. Moral authority has a greater force than ‘danda’ force, sir,” Chaman Lal said.